Confirmatory factor analysis of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire in Mexican mothers of preschool children

Abstract

Introduction: identifying maternal attitudes and behaviors related to child feeding could be difficult since the underlying constructs are abstract and complex. Different questionnaires have been used to identify these constructs: one of the most widely used is the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ), which had been validated in different populations. However, no previous study ever validated the CFPQ in Mexican mothers. Material and methods: a process of cultural adaptation was done to adapt the CFPQ to Mexican mothers, and subsequently a confirmatory factor analysis was done. A total of 300 mother-preschooler pairs participated. Weight and height were measured and the nutritional status was obtained. Results: the CFPQ is a useful questionnaire to identify child feeding practices, since the model's goodness of fit indices were acceptable (CFI = 0.943, TLI = 0.937, NFI = 0.874 and RMSEA = 0.042), as was the internal consistency of the CFPQ. Conclusion: the CFPQ version that was translated into Spanish and adapted to Mexican mothers demonstrated significant internal reliability, and therefore is useful to identify and describe maternal child-feeding practices.